...Lake Travis Independent School District
April 25, 2013
Lake Travis ISD Parents and Guardians,
I am writing to let you know about a situation that has occurred in our high school building. It was reported last week that under a stool in the library, someone had written in pencil, “There will be blood 4/26/13.” The stool was immediately removed, law enforcement was contacted, and along with our high school administrative team began to investigate and assess this matter. We are receiving comments and feedback that there is a concern across our district about this event. The purpose of this letter is to let you know what we know and what we are doing to respond to this matter. While all schools are not directly involved, we wanted to communicate with our entire district.
We do not believe this discovery to be a cause for alarm, but out of an abundance of caution we have put together a plan for increased police presence at our campuses on Friday, April 26, 2013. We are working in concert with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and our School Resource Officers, the Lakeway Police Department, and the Bee Cave Police Department to coordinate monitoring at LTHS and LTMS. In addition, you will see an increased police presence at all LTISD campuses.
Once again, let me remind you that the district has a well-defined crisis management plan that we have rehearsed and that we reassess after every incident. We strive to be on alert every day. Our goal is to be as prepared as possible if a crisis were to affect any of our schools. We are in constant communication with all of our area law enforcement agencies to make sure that our crisis management plan has been well-vetted and is clearly understood by all who would respond.
As you can appreciate, this is an intrusion into our school day and learning environment. We take these types of situations seriously and will investigate to determine who was involved and apply consequences as appropriate. I urge you to send your child to school tomorrow, but I also respect your rights and needs as parents to make informed decisions for our children. If you have a student in the high school or LTMS, please explain our plans for the day and encourage your student to immediately report any suspicious activity to an adult. Together, we will continue to work to protect our children and foster a safe learning environment.
Sincerely,
Brad Lancaster, Ed.D.
(Please note: this letter will also be posted in Spanish on the LTISD website shortly.)
